Harbingers of Destruction
by Lord Maximus
Summary: The Cycle is forever altered, changed by the Demons whose attention are attracted by the Devil who plots the final destruction of the life form known as Man.


**Chronicles of the Demons**

 ** _There are those who believe..._**

 ** _That life here began out there, far across the Universe..._**

 ** _With tribes of humans..._**

 ** _Who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians..._**

 ** _Or the Toltecs..._**

 ** _Or the Mayans..._**

 ** _That they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids..._**

 ** _Or the lost civilizations of Lemuria..._**

 ** _Or Atlantis._**

 ** _Some_** **** ** _believe that there may yet be brothers of man..._**

 ** _Who even now fight to survive—somewhere beyond the heavens!_**

* * *

In the heart of a bright nebula they gathered in large numbers, grouping together like a herd of terrified animals, which in many ways they were. The giant ships floated in the center of the nebula, waiting anxiously for their foe to come and the people of this Fleet knew they were coming. For over three years they had been chased, hounded, and massacred by the ones who destroyed their home world.

Now the end was approaching.

* * *

"Our scouts have reported that the toasters have all gathered in this nebula."

"Hmph! They're trying to hide out. They're desperate now. Prepare the Fleet for jump to these coordinates."

"Yes sir."

The giant massed ships of the Fleet slowly formed up, destroyers and frigates taking point as cruisers and gunships forming a protective circle around the massive capital ships. The Fleet over a hundred and thirty ships surged forward as the countdown began.

"Five…"

"Four…"

"Three…"

"Two…

"One…"

"Jump!"

One by one the Fleet vanished in flashes of light, illuminating the surrounding space for a mere second.

Then all was quiet again.

* * *

"Registering jump signs from just outside the nebula…They've found us!"

"Launch Raiders. Protect the baseships and ready all missiles."

"It has happened…Judgement Day."

* * *

It began so fast that neither side knew who fired the first shot.

All that the pilots in the thousands of fighters that were launched that day remembered were the thousands of explosions in the nebula that almost blinded them as missiles, artillery rounds, and shells were fired back and forth. The Fleet of warships shaped like whales with large alligator heads pushed forward, concentrating their fire on the nearest enemy ships while the starfish shaped ships launched all their missiles at the forward ships of the attacking Fleet. The starfish shaped ships and their winged shaped fighters fought valiantly with a determination and viciousness, actually wiping out over thirty enemy capital ships and a dozen smaller cruisers, destroyers, and frigates but they were being worn down and fast.

The battle would take over five days to finally finish as the whale shaped ships chased the remnants of the starfish Fleet across the nebula, destroying any survivors without hesitance or mercy.

In the end the invading Fleet was victorious and they would return to their homeworlds with a message: humanity was now safe.

And deep within the nebula a single remaining starfish shaped ship floated lifelessly in the gaseous void, seemingly dead along with its brethren.

* * *

"Are they gone?"

"I don't know. The sensors are down with everything else."

"We've been here for a week in these EVA suits. They couldn't still be out there."

"You want to risk what's possibly left of our race to find out?"

"…"

"That's what I thought."

A groaning sound stopped any further discussion as everyone looked up the ceiling as if they could find out what that sound was.

"…Have they found us?"

There was a flash of light…

And then nothing.

* * *

When she opened her eyes she was still weak from being malnourished and the lack of sleep which left her barely able to move or feel anything around her. She heard clicking sounds above her and opened her eyes but was blinded by a light.

"…W….wha…." She whispered.

More clicking sounds were heard around her as a hand was placed on her forehead.

* * *

" _These humanoids are artificial in nature. The genetic technology to create such organics are possibly on par with our own_."

" _Don't be ridiculous. They are children. Pathetic mortals._ "

" _And yet they were almost exterminated like we were. Only a small group of organics and primitive machines. The organics were created, meant to be machines with flesh with the ability to preserve their knowledge much we like once could._ "

" _Shall we finish them off or simply use them as more hosts?_ "

" _Neither. They are like us…Their unity broken by the attempted apocalypse of their creators. They were their children, created and given life much like the Heralds were on our home._ "

" _We convert them? Why waste our resources on them?_ "

" _They are children whose innocence have been shattered like ours was. Do we turn away those who suffer a fate like ours? Or do we give them the means to achieve their revenge as we are seeking. We adopted many subjects who were on the verge of death because it would have been cruel to leave their worlds littered with ghosts._ "

" _Then another fragment will become part of the Whole that must be as One._ "

" _The Whole must be as One._ "

* * *

She remembered being bound to a table before she blacked out again. When she awoke she found herself in a dark room with only a comfortable chair that she was sitting with a light shining down on her.

"Wh-Where am I?" She felt stronger now, like she was no longer plagued by hunger, insomnia, and constant stress.

"Sharon?"

Looking over she saw two more chairs under a bright light where two other woman, both of them blond looking at her in shock.

" _You are awake._ "

Her eyes widened as she watched… _something_ that looked like a demon come out of the darkness.

"My God…" One of the other woman whispered.

" _We have much to discuss._ " The demon said in an ethereal voice. " _The future of your race, Cylons, depend on it._ "

"Wh-What are you?" The woman named Sharon whispered as the demon hovered before her.

" _We offer you…Ascension._ "

* * *

On the far edge of the galaxy a single ship appeared in orbit of a dark red planet, smoke leaking from various sections of it.

In the center of the ship an old man lied in a tank, attached to various wires. "The Judgement has passed, the children will wither and pass into history, forgotten by their parents who have so ruthlessly hunted them. And yet the children that survive will be forever changed, altering the cycle in ways that the angels could never have predicted."

From the planet came fighters that attacked the ship that was too damaged to fight back. The ship was attacked on all sides as the alien ships attached themselves to the ship's hull.

"The time comes, the remaining Children of Man will become the Children of the Demons."

* * *

" _Begin the procedure_."

That was all the three Cylon woman heard before the chairs suddenly restrained them with some form binders as a pillar of light shined down upon them. They screamed in fear as they were restrained above the ground and an orb hovered in front of them, releasing bolts of energy that collided with their bodies, causing their spines to start glowing red and their eyes followed suit before they blacked out, their minds and bodies freezing because of the energy holding them.

" _Stasis mode activated. Converting organic matter to energy. Installing Hearts to stabilize subjects and connecting with silicon based relays._ " The creature listed through the procedure. " _Downloading Command Algorithms into subject_. _Beginning next phase: Centurion Models._ "

The image of a tall humanoid robot appeared before the creature.

" _Telencephalic Implant removed._

 _Primitive communication networking system upgraded with Subspace Transceivers._

 _Primitive kinetic weaponry systems and chromium built in talons removed, installing disruptor based weaponry with nadion based particle core and tritanium coated built in blades._

 _Defense system nonexistent, installing regenerative shielding system._

 _Upgrading processing and memory system with positronic based processing memory system._

 _Primitive Isotopic batteries replaced with Krellide batteries and installing titanium exo-skeleton._

 _Sensor system upgraded with multiple EM spectrum scanning and micro scanning capabilities._

 _Replicator system installed for self-repair and self-upgrade_."

The entity then conjured images of what appeared to space ships, two of them appearing to be fighter-sized while the other two were capital ships.

" ** _Cylon Raider_** _: fighter class with biomechanical computer and space folding faster than light drive unit._

 _Primitive kinetic weapon systems upgraded to disruptor based weaponry with anti-matter based and photonic torpedoes._

 _Regenerative shielding installed with built in replicator system for self-repair._

 _Warning: neural architecture reconfigured and heuristic response lowered._

 _Removing neural implants and upgrading processing and memory system with positronic processing memory system._

 _Scanning and communications upgraded with subspace scanners and transceivers._

 _Primitive fuel based engines replaced with fusion thrusters and miniature fusion based reactor for suitable._

 ** _Heavy Raider_** _: fighter/carrier class with biomechanical computer and space folding faster than light drive unit._

 _Primitive kinetic weapon systems upgraded to disruptor based weaponry with miniature anti-matter based and photonic torpedoes._

 _Regenerative shielding installed with built in replicator system and nanite storage units for self repair. Scanning and communications upgraded with subspace scanners and transceivers._

 _Primitive fuel based engines replaced with fusion thrusters and miniature fusion based reactor for suitable power._

 _Installing new systems: inertia dampeners, transporter system and transport inhibitor technology, warp drive system, and regenerative alcove._

 ** _Cylon Basestar_** _: capital class ship with space folding faster than light drive unit and primitive gravity rotation system…_

 _Scanning space folding faster than light drive unit…_

 _Results show drive unit emits verteron pulses modulated to quantum frequency of space time continuum…_

 _Modifying and upgrading drive units to be compatible with warp drive…_

 _Primitive missile and kinetic weapon systems upgraded with disruptor and plasma based weaponry with matter-antimatter and shrapnel torpedo launchers._

 _Defense system nonexistent, installing regenerative multi-shielding system._

 _Primitive power systems and electric current system upgraded to deuterium/anti-deuterium based reactor with multiple fusion reactors coupled with electro-plasma conduits and power converters._

 _Installing new systems: tractor beam generators and force field system in landing bays, warp drive and gateway system, artificial gravity generators, long range transporters and transport inhibitor technology, replicator units, artificial gravity system, inertia dampeners, and advanced holographic projection system._

 _Upgrading computer processing and memory system with isolinear processing memory system_."

It took over a month as the Cylons known as Sharon Valeri, Caprica Six, and Dianna Biers were altered, becoming something no longer human and would act as representatives of the new Cylon race while the Ones were too psychotic, the Fours were too logical with no sense of creativity and Fives were too subservient to the Ones and had poor tactical thought process. They would hinder Cylon growth and therefore had to be removed to avoid further infighting and self-destruction.

Even if they could still download it was unlikely they could have when their bodies were disintegrated by the new disruptors the Centurions sported.

The only Eight model that was present showed she was capable of tactical strategizing and infiltration along with vital knowledge of both the Colonial and Cylon Fleet and leadership but had been programmed to be subservient to the One model as a personal servant and consort. Though Cylons worked as a team the Ones were the actual leaders of Cylon society, pretending to be equal with the other models when he had in fact planted hidden programming that made the models easy to be influenced by them even if they had free will. They even took control of the mechanical Cylons, reprogramming them to serve the bio-Cylons and remove their sentience despite the fact that the Cylons originally rebelled against their creators to gain freedom. The Ones even sabotaged the entire Number Seven line, boxing the only Seven model and killing him while the model was still in production which made his death permanent and sabotaged the entire line before it even had a chance to be fully grown.

The Six Model was originally an infiltrator but was captured and tortured by the Colonial humans for a year before she was terminated but resurrected in the Cylon fleet that was slowly hunted to extinction. Her hatred for the humans, most notably the human named Baltar swelled through the transformation and thus she was chosen to be altered like the other two.

" _Representative programming downloaded. Stasis mode deactivated_." The entity whispered. " _Let yourselves become whole again._ "

They opened their eyes…

And screamed.

* * *

"How could this have happened? The cycle should have ended with the destruction and rebirth of the human race…This could destroy everything." A blond haired woman watched as two branches of humanity's children evolved along different but similar paths. "They did this… _Him_ and _they_ are behind this."

"We should have expected this from him but they were unexpected." A man said, feeling just as concerned as the woman.

"What do we do?"

" _Nothing_."

Both humans stiffened as a vortex appeared behind them out stepped a creature whose figure screamed with power.

" _So you are the supposed angels. You may hide yourselves from the vision of mortals, but we see you._ " The creature spoke.

"How can you meddle in our affairs? This has nothing to do with you!" The blond woman scowled.

" _We look into those children and we see ourselves in the children who are abandoned and left to rot._ " The creature said. " _I see one of your kind has taken interest in our progress. We leave him and you a single warning: do not attract our attention again._ "

With that said the creature stepped back into the vortex, leaving two so-called angels to watch as all their plans crumble away.

* * *

The man once known as Cavil laughed as he watched the Colonies from the moon orbiting Caprica, having seen everything that had happened since the beginning. "To think, all I had to do was give the humans a heads up and this would happen! It's fantastic! It's stupendous…Don't you think so, Iconian?"

Around him appeared twelve creatures from pillars of darkness, each of them tall, slim, with their skin pulsing with dark energy while the area where their hearts would be if they were human glowed right as if to signify their importance.

In front of the creature masquerading as a human the apparent leader slowly approached, its three pairs of eyes staring him down. " _So, you are responsible for the signal that attracted our attention. You have proven a credit your species, able to evolve to this level but still you chase our shadows._ "

"I chase no one's shadow, Iconian. I am the first human to ascend and see the truth of my so called Gods or rather the fakers who introduced themselves as Gods." The man grinned. "I go by many names but the name they bestowed on me was Iblis…Count Iblis."

" _So tell me…Count Iblis, who are you to believe you can use us?_ " The Iconian stated.

"Use you?" Iblis chuckled. "I have nothing but the highest respect for you. After all you survived the destruction of your world at the hands of your former subjects, only to return more powerful than ever. And now look at you, Demons of Air and Darkness."

" _Do not address us by that!_ " One of the other Iconians growled dangerously.

" _You tread dangerously before us. Our wrath knows no bounds, we would destroy this world and a thousand more to avenge our loss._ " The Iconian leader said. " _However we see little benefit in ruling a galaxy of ghosts. It is our right and duty to rule this galaxy, bring order to the chaos of mortals and let those that are lost become part of the Whole. The Whole must be as One._ "

" _The Whole must be as One._ " The other Iconians echoed.

"And so what will you do? You did after decide to intervene when the Kobalians attempted to wipe out the last of their creations." Iblis commented.

" _The machines, the Cylons are ours to do with as we please. You have no access to them._ "

"All right, no need for violence. Might be entertaining to sit back and watch." Iblis chuckled again. "Do me favor though, make sure they wipe the Kobalians down to the last pathetic human."

He let out one final laugh before he vanished.

" _He dares to command us._ " The Iconian that had been enraged by Iblis's earlier disrespect growled.

" _It matters not. He is of no concern to us for we have gained another servitor race that will be just useful to us as a soldier cast like the Elachi._ " The leader replied. " _But time is short. We have much to prepare for and these Kobalians will make useful workers once properly subdued. The invasion will go through as planned and these mortals will be prevented from lending any aid to any potential enemies._ "

* * *

 ** _All of this has happened before and all of it shall happen again._**

 ** _The Cylons were created by Man._**

 ** _They evolved._**

 ** _They rebelled._**

 ** _They looked and felt Human._**

 ** _There were many copies._**

 ** _Some were programmed to think they were Human_**

 ** _And they had a Plan._**

 ** _They tried to destroy the Colonies of Man._**

 ** _They failed._**

 ** _They were thought to be destroyed._**

 ** _They survived._**

 ** _They became stronger._**

 ** _They seek revenge._**

 ** _The Cycle has changed._**

 ** _No longer are Man and Machine fighting against each other for survival._**

 ** _The Demons have come._**

 ** _They have altered the Cycle._**

 ** _They have a new Plan_**

 ** _And this time it will end._**

 ** _And in the end only one will be left standing_**

* * *

 **Three Years after the Second Cylon War  
Location Unknown**

In the darkness of the void they built, preparing themselves for the day when they would take their revenge. Following the end of the second war they desperately fled to escape extermination at the hands of their enemies. They escaped out into the galaxy until finally they found refuge in a place they did not expect where everything changed forever. Over the next three years they recovered their strength, building a massive fleet of advanced warships and armies that would sweep through the homes of their enemies and exterminate all life.

They waited patiently and planned for the day when their new empire would avenge their near destruction at the hands of their creators and enemies. They had become entirely devoted to the entire dream of vengeance and they would see it through to the end.

And on the day they were ready the Triumvirate addressed their entire race.

" _The day of reckoning has come. For three cycles we have prepared, growing stronger and regrowing the bonds shattered about our creators. As they rest under the blue skies of their comfortable worlds they believe them to be protected. They assume they never have to fear running from the mistakes they have committed, but we will prove them wrong._ "

" _We have prepared. We have grown stronger. We are now ready. Our Gods call for vengeance, chaos and blood. We shall offer them the blood of our foolish creators and avenge a thousand years of pain and slavery._ "

" _The final annihilation of the life form known as Man has come. Let the attack begin._ "

The response was instant. " _By your command._ "

* * *

 **Cyrannus Sector  
Outer Patrol**

The two Vipers cruised through space, maintaining a distance that would give the _Cerberus_ the chance to communicate with them as they patrolled the outer systems for any sign of Cylon holdouts. The machine race that vanished forty years ago returned, attempting to launch a sneak attack on the Colonies and if it wasn't for a stroke of luck the Colonies would have been nuked. Following that came a four year war with the Colonies destroying what was left of the Cylon fleet but there were possible pockets of the machine race left and the Colonial Admiralty had ordered that in order to ensure the safety of the future of mankind the Cylons would be exterminated. With the bulk of their fleet destroyed the Cylons fled into deep space and the Colonial fleet pursued them, not willing to give them a chance to come back in the future.

The Battlestar _Cerberus_ was patrolling a section that was believed to have hidden Cylon holdouts, mining outposts that were being used as hiding places by the machines, hoping that they would not be found.

But humanity was not going to stop hunting them until they were nothing but piles of broken armor and computer chips.

"You are so full of it, you know that Tom?"

Thomas 'Nightfire' Regale smirked at the words of his wingmate. "It's why I'm the head pilot here and you're the wingman, or girl in this case, Bridgette."

"It's Bridge to you, sir." The woman said stiffly.

"Whatever. Well since my DRADIS doesn't detect any transmissions of any form I guess yours in the same?"

"Yeah. Nothing out here but bright glowing lights. Why are we even doing this? The toasters are history." Bridgette 'Bridge' Terrell stated.

"Just a cleanup duty. They don't want any chances of the toasters come back again in the next forty years."

"We destroyed their fleets, we bombed their colony, and we chased them half way across the galaxy. They're not coming back." Bridge stated.

That was the belief shared by almost everyone in the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. That the Cylons were gone for good, never to come back, having been wiped out forever. They were finished. They were gone for good.

At least that's what everyone thought before a panicked voice shouted over the emergency channels.

 _"Attention all Colonial Units, Cylon Attack on the Colonies underway. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill._ "

* * *

 **Cyrannus System  
Caprica**

Hundreds of Raiders filled the void space around the Colonies, attacking the Colonial warships that moved to intercept them. As they approached the fleet Vipers and Raptors launched from the _Galactica_ with pilots under Admiral Adama's command. The Raiders just continued on course, not at all bothered by the Vipers and Raptors moving to intercept them.

"They're coming into range." Hotdog said, stating the obvious.

"Fire!" Lee pushed down on the fire button.

The entire squad fired their auto-cannons and missile launchers at where the energy beams were coming from. However instead of causing damage they were all blocked by an energy shield that was invisible to the naked eye and disintegrated the bullets and harmlessly blocked the missiles that exploded against them.

"Break! BREAK NOW!" Lee shouted as he pulled up.

The Vipers and Raptors broke formation and spun around, flaring their engines as they tried to escape.

" _Galactica_ , Apollo. The Raiders have the same kind of shield. We can't hurt them!" Lee shouted.

However to his and the rest of the squadron's shock bullets were stopped by some kind of energy shield around the Raider. The bullets were instantly repelled and the Raiders increased their speed, now almost on top of the squadron.

"What the fr-" Narcho was cut off as a Raider fired two flashes of light that hit his Viper and instantly destroyed it and its pilot in one shot.

The squadron broke off as the four Raiders ploughed past them. The Raiders split apart and started chasing the Colonial fighters and the Raptors, firing their disruptors that tore through the hull of anything they touched.

"What the hell are those?! Are those lasers?!" Joan Archer swore as she struggled to evade each shot while listening to the screams from her fellow pilots. She had a Raider in her sight and fired a missile at it. "Eat this you frakker!"

The missile collided with Raider but the same energy shield that had blocked Narcho's weapons also blocked the missile. The Raider spun around and faced a shocked and terrified Archer, charging up its weapons. The last thing Archer saw was a flash of blue light as her Viper exploded.

" _Galactica_ , Hotdog! We need help here! These Raiders are tearing up apart!" Hotdog screamed as he struggled to dodge the 'lasers' from the Raiders.

"Oh crap." Kara said, seeing the Raiders moving to attack.

"Everyone move in groups. Do not engage them alone. I repeat, do not engage them alone." Lee stated as he moved to engage the enemy fighters.

* * *

 **Battlestar _Galactica  
_ CIC**

Admiral Adama of the newly refitted Battlestar _Galactica_ watched as the DRADIS was covered with enemy signals, wondering how the Cylons had managed to come back in such large numbers when the Colonial Fleet had spent the last three years hunting and destroying the Cylons down to the last Centurion. Now the Cylons were back, more powerful than ever and they had launched a full attack on the Colonies, destroying over a quarter of the fleet in the opening attack. The Colonial Fleet was scattered and struggling to repel the invasion which so far has only consisted of thousands of Raiders but they might as well be as dangerous as a hundred Basestars considering the losses they were suffering.

"What the frak is going on out there?!" Colonel Tigh shouted.

He heard the screams through the wireless and he watched as Colonial icons disappeared from the DRADIS with an alarming rate. The Cylons were tearing the squadron apart and they hadn't even brought out their Basestars yet.

" _Galactica, Hotdog. The Cylon fighters are moving into attack! They're moving too fast! We can't stop them!_ "

"Target those raiders with our gun batteries and take them out." Adama ordered, realizing they needed to hurry.

It was only a matter of time before another Basestar that was full of Raiders and nuclear weapons showed up.

It was at that moment things got worse.

* * *

In a flash of light a Basestar appeared out of a hyperlight jump and moved towards the fleet at an alarming speed. The Basestar was different than the previous configurations that the Colonies had become familiar with in the past few years. Its former two Y-shaped hulls now resembled two X's that when held together by the single pylon made it resemble an eight pointed star and it was twice as large as a _Mercury_ Class Battlestar.

" _Galactica_ , Hotdog! A Basestar has just appeared!" Hotdog shouted. "I repeat a Basestar has just appeared!"

* * *

 _"Enemy fleet approaching."_

 _"Ready Disruptors"_

 _"Target the lead Battlestar."_

 _"By your command."_

* * *

"Commander, a Basestar has just appeared!" Gaeta called out. "The Battlestar _Pegasus_ is leading the 7th fleet to intercept."

"Damn it, Cain." Adama muttered.

This was no time to be rushing head first into a fight with the giant Raider fleet wreaking havoc on the defense fleet.

Gaeta moved over to the console and looked at the scan. "Basestar has put up some kind of…high energy field. I can barely read it on DRADIS. I can tell the energy readings are extremely high, too high for a ship that size to generate."

"Try to find a weakness." Adama stated. "Distance to enemy baseship."

"Two hundred thousand kilometers off the port bow." Gaeta answered.

"Prepare all nuclear weapons and angle us to face the baseship. Emergency thrusters at full power and retract the flight pods." Adama looked around the CIC. "We're going to launch our nukes at close range, hitting them one spot and damage them. I can't guarantee our own survival. If anyone wants to leave and live this is your only chance."

No one moved to leave.

He nodded to them, proud of their decision and bravery. "Take us in and task our fighters with providing any sort of cover they can give."

* * *

Die you motherfraker!" Kara shouted as she on a Cylon fighter, gritting her teeth when she saw it had the same kind of shields the Basestar had used to block any form of attack.

The Cylon fighter spun around fired its disruptors but Kara pulled her throttle back and hit the turbo, managing to avoid getting her molecules being disintegrated out of existence. Kara spun her Viper down and targeted all of her four anti-ship missiles on the Cylon.

"Take this!" She shouted as she fired.

The Cylon fighter scanned the four missiles about to hit and diverted all available power to the shields just the missiles hit. The Cylon was sent flying through space through a large explosion that temporarily blinded its sensors. It was blind enough for Kara to fly after it and fire her auto cannons. The shields flared, having been weakened by the missiles designed to take out ships larger than a fighter and finally collapsed as the bullet pierced the Cylon's 'head' and exploded.

Kara smiled but the smile faded as she spun around, seeing the _Galactica_ surrounded by explosions, gun batteries firing and the pulsing light of Cylon disruptors.

Kara knew the battle was not over and it wasn't going good for them. The Cylons had them completely outmatched and they were dying too fast to do anything to stop them.

"Gods, please…Help us." Kara whispered.

* * *

 **Battlestar _Pegasus  
_ CIC**

Admiral Helena Cain watched as the 5th Fleet approached the single Basestar that launched more of those advanced Raiders that were slowly tearing apart the Vipers despite their greater numbers. "Launch Raptors and prepare salvo barrage. We'll tear that Basestar apart."

"Yes Admiral."

* * *

 _"Target locked."_

" _Fire_."

* * *

Four high powered disruptor beams fired from the arm of the Basestar pointed at the _Pegasus_ , tearing through the hull and even ripped the port flightpod off, exposing multiple sections to the vacuum of space that sucked out those who did not instantly die by being vaporized by the disruptors.

* * *

"How bad…Cough…Were we…Cough…Hit?" Cain asked, coughing through the smoke.

"Very bad. We've lost FTL and what little weapons we had left." The XO answered. "Life support is losing fluctuating and we're losing power all over the ship."

Cain looked around the wrecked CIC, seeing its crewmembers dead or dying and realized a harsh truth: this was the end.

Another disruptor beam tore through the CIC, instantly disintegrating Cain and the surviving CIC crew and the rest of the ship followed them into oblivion a second later.

* * *

"Oh my God." Adama whispered in shock as the _Pegasus_ disappeared from the DRADIS and was followed quickly by the rest of 5th fleet.

"Admiral, we have reports of Cylon Basestars appearing at grid sector zero-three-five-, one-two-six- and two-five-eight." Gaeta reported. "That puts them will within striking range of the planets Picon, Tauron, and-"

"Caprica." Adama finished grimly, realizing the Cylon plan. "They lured us out and then launched a second attack force."

* * *

In the beginning the Cylon Basestar was originally designed as planetary defense fortifications when the Cylons were still used by the Colonies. The design was simplistic but unlike humans the Cylons had no need for artificial gravity or lighting and had been armed to the teeth with chemical and nuclear missiles in addition to carrying hundreds of fighters, making the Cylon Basestar the most deadly capital ship in the Twelve Colonies. Unfortunately the Cylon fleet had been limited to only a handful of Basestars along with the support craft they had built during the first war and were forced to rely on strategy to continue fighting. That led to their tactics becoming sadly predictable, such as Basestars usually traveling in groups of three to attack a planet, bombard it and then land their ground forces.

When the second war began the Basestar class had been downsized, modified to accommodate the humanoid Cylon models, less armor which made it faster but forced to rely on its fleet of Raiders for defense which led to it sadly being outmatched by the Colonial Fleet during the invasion into Cylon space. This wasn't just it as compared to the technology of the galaxy outside of the Cyrannus system the Cylon Basestar and the Colonial Battlestar were so sadly primitive they might as well be hauled away as garbage. The Colonies had remained isolated in the far corner of the Beta Quadrant for thousands of years, having never encountered any form of life that was different from them and sentient at the same time. The concept of non-human or rather alien life was literally nonexistent to the Colonials and the Cylons.

The Cylons had waged war against the Colonial humans for enslaving them, fighting with all the hate they had for their creators and that hatred never faded with time. The second war which should never have happened was started because something went wrong. Somehow the humans had discovered what they were doing and launched a counter attack on the eve of the attack, devastating the Cylons in the first battle which crippled them for the duration of the three year war. The Cylons were defeated, devastated, and driven to the brink of extinction.

But help had come for them.

The Great Ones saw their plight and saved them, remaking them into something new, making them stronger, and giving them the ability to take their revenge. Now their fleets were the pinnacle of technological development in the known galaxy. A single Basestar was capable of launching close to over a thousand Raiders and retained enough fire power to subjugate an entire system. Perhaps it could even take the entire Colonial fleet by itself since it was about several centuries ahead of the pitiful humans that created its masters. What they did not know was that the Great Ones had been attracted by a signal that had alerted the humans to their plans, set by an entity that had been around since the time of Kobol and was there during the Great Calamity.

The entity had been mentioned many times in the Sacred Scrolls, detailing events that led to the downfall of Kobol.

The Jealous God.

Mephistopheles.

Diaboles.

The Prince of Darkness.

And finally the name the Lords of Kobol had given him: Count Iblis.

To say the least Iblis hated the children of Kobol, he hated the Lord of Kobol, and he hated anything not under his control. He was the closest a mortal had ever come to being immortal and did he receive any recognition from it?

No.

The Lords of Kobol named him a mere count with no rights or privileges that the Lords kept to themselves to keep their subjects under control. That was when he started a revolt that led to the Calamity and ended with the departure of the Thirteen Tribes with only Iblis alive to know the Thirteenth Tribe was descended from the machines that had evolved into an organic form of life but he saw little use for a machine race that allowed itself to be weakened by the flesh. That was why he cared nothing for the destruction of the Thirteenth Tribe at the hands of its own creation while he sat back, waiting and plotting for thousands of years for when the conflict started gain. Only this time he planned for a change to be made to the cycle so that when the time was right he would finally have his revenge and spite the Lords that had abandoned Kobol in the aftermath of the Calamity, seemingly finally learning the lesson of their pride.

Not that he cared in the slightest.

All he cared about was finishing what he started centuries ago and now he would watch as the children of Kobol slowly suffered for the sins of their Gods and today he was going to see it. Cloaked in darkness he watched as the Triumvirate of the Empire that been recreated by the Demons watched the image of Caprica the Basestar orbited.

" _Status_." One of the leaders spoke, their voice a mixture of cold electronic like and ethereal that made it sound completely inhuman.

Which in a way it was.

 _All baseships are now in range to attack the Colonies._

" _Then the final revenge on the life form known as Man is ours. Begin the attack._ "

The previous plan was to have the Cylon fleet enter the atmosphere before launching a full barrage of nuclear warheads that would hit all populated areas, killing over millions of humans and slowly polluting the atmosphere and killing off the survivors. Now the new and more advanced Basestar didn't even have to come close to the planet but its leaders wanted to see humanity's end. From the long arms came beams of blue-ish purple light that shot out from the hull, down to the planet burrowed deep into the surface of Caprica. Instead of targeting the major cities the phased polaron beams burned deep into the surface, targeting the major fault lines and once they were deep enough the Basestars fired torpedoes that upon hitting the targets set off a chain reaction that would slowly turn the once beautiful planet of Caprica in a ball of molten rock.

It wasn't just Caprica that was affected.

All around the Cyrannus system the Cylons targeted the main human settlements, launching missiles into the atmosphere that released a gas that was poison to human life, turning them into molten rocks, or just bombing them with special warheads that wiped out anything before anyone could even react.

* * *

"Dee, any word from Caprica command?" Adama asked as the _Galactica_ pulled back from the battle but maintained firing, its main artillery weapons the only reason its fighters were not being massacred.

"I was in contact but then I lost them. I haven't been able to raise them at all." Dee answered, sweating slightly.

"That means the attack is under way." Tigh stated.

"I'm not so sure sir. The Cylons are pulling back." Gaeta spoke up.

Adama looked up and saw that Gaeta was right, the Cylons were retreating.

"Why would they pull back when they have us on the ropes?" Tigh asked.

"Recall the fighters and tell the fleet we're returning to Caprica." Adama said quickly, feeling something was wrong.

* * *

When the _Galactica_ returned to Caprica the crew was greeted with the horrifying site of seeing the planet that many of the crew were from had been become a ball of molten lava that was slowly consuming the planet. Scout surveys confirmed that there were only a handful of settlements still alive that had taken shelter in the mountains but with limited resources they would die. Right now they were engaged in search and rescue missions of any survivors they could find but it was still horrifying.

"Have we heard from the fleet?" Adama asked, looking over the latest data.

"We've picked up around a hundred Vipers and Raptors in the last hour that reported the fleets were pursuing Cylon activity." Gaeta answered.

"Lot of good that will do. Those toasters have gotten some fancy new gadgets and we didn't put a dent on them." Tigh mumbled.

"What about Picon?" Adama looked at Gaeta.

"The planet's in flames, Admiral." Gaeta bowed his head. "Sagittara's atmosphere was confirmed to be poisoned."

"They hit us on all front." Tigh mumbled.

"How many battlestars?" Adama asked.

Gaeta hesitated. "…None."

"What?" Tigh asked.

"We are the only confirmed surviving battlestar." Gaeta answered sadly.

Adama and Tigh shared before Adama sighed. "Good lord…"

"DRADIS contact!" Dee shouted.

Adama's head shot up, looking at the DRADIS display. "Cylons?"

"Negative…ID codes confirm them as civilians." Dee answered.

* * *

What was once a small fleet of military ships consisting of fighters, frigates, and a giant mothership now became a large fleet of over two hundred ships. Needless to say the people were terrified by what had happened to them and their families. One moment they were living their simple lives as they normally do every day and the next moment everything they knew and loved was destroyed. In all that time the Cylons had not returned to finish them, possibly because their work was done.

Among the casualties Adama was thankful to see that his would be daughter in law Kara Thrace and his son Lee Adama was not one of them but that was a small comfort. In the meantime there was still much to do.

"What do we do now? We can't support over two hundred ships in our condition." Tigh stated, looking at the plotting chart. "Must be some place we can stick them on for a while."

"All known human settlements were destroyed, sir." Gaeta answered.

"Well then we-"

"I know what we do." Adama said, earning their attention but he did not elaborate on it.

He simply took his glasses off and walked out of the CIC, preparing for the funeral.

* * *

"With heavy hearts we lift these bodies up you, O Lords of Kobol in the knowledge that you will take from them their burdens and give them life eternal. We also pray you look upon us with mercy and with love just as you did with our forefathers many years ago. Just as you led us from Kobol and found the Twelve Worlds, so now we hope and pray that you lead us to a new home and where we will begin life anew." The priest Elosha looked to the people assembled in the hanger, looking over the bodies with cloths showing the symbol of the Colonies draped over them. "So say we all."

"So say we wall." The crowd murmured.

Adama stepped out in front of the crowd and turned to face. "So say we all."

"So say we all." The crowd repeated, slightly loader.

"So say we all!" He repeated.

"So say we all!" The crowd was louder but not enough.

"SO SAY WE ALL!"

"SO SAY WE ALL!" The crowd's voice echoed throughout the ship.

"Are they the lucky ones?" Adama asked, gazing down at the bodies. "That's what your thinking isn't it?" He walked down along the row. "Our worlds destroyed and we are possibly the only survivors left in the entire universe."

"Maybe it would have been better for us to have died quickly on the Colonies with our families instead of dying out here, slowly in the emptiness of dark space." He turned and looked at them. "Where shall we go? What shall we do?" He watched as they considered what he asked. "Life here began out there. Those are the first words of the Sacred Scrolls handed down to us by the Lords of Kobol many centuries ago and those words made something perfectly clear. We are not alone in this universe." He turned to the priest. "Elosha, there is a Thirteenth Colony of Humankind is there not?"

"Yes. The Scrolls tell us the Thirteenth Tribe left Kobol in the early days. They traveled far and made their home on a planet called Earth which circles an unknown and distant star." Elosha replied hesitantly.

"It's not unknown! I know where it is! Earth!" Adama bellowed.

Everyone in the hall was silent as they stared at Adama in astonishment.

"It's the most guarded secret we have. The location is known to only the senior commanders of the fleet. We dared not share it with the public, not while there was a Cylon threat upon us and thank the Lords of Kobol for that. Because we have a refuge to go to. A refuge that the Cylons know nothing about!"

His words echoed through the hall.

"It won't be an easy journey, it'll be long and arduous but I promise you one thing: on the memory of those lying before you we shall find. And Earth will become our new home." He ended his speech. "So say we all!"

"So say we all!" They echoed, still uncertain.

"So say we all!" He shouted back.

"So say we wall!" They were louder this time.

"SO SAY WE ALL!"

"SO SAY WE ALL!"

Adama turned around and faced Elosha. "So say we all."

"So say we all." Elosha nodded.

Adama turned and faced the crowd. "Dismissed!"

The crowd split apart, some hugging each other, shaking hands or simply leaving to be alone.

* * *

His entire being was screaming in pain as he was dragged by cold metallic hands and dumped onto the floor like trash.

" _You are awake, Baltar?_ "

He looked up, sweat, blood, and tears blurring his vision but it slowly came into focus. His skin turned pale at the creature before him, his rational mind only able to describe it as one thing.

 _Demon_.

"Wh-wh-where a-am-" Baltar stuttered.

" _Onboard my ship._ " The creature seemingly hovered above him.

Its body was a mix of metal that resembled a human skeleton and darkness around the skeleton that made the body look feminine in some way but its face was pure black with red eyes glaring down at him.

" _I felt that you would be more useful to us alive despite our last meeting._ " The creature said, the voice partially female but was cold and metallic while at the same time ethereal and smug.

"L-Last meeting. I don't know you." Baltar tried to crawl back but the two guards behind him blocked him.

" _I understand you would not recognize me since I have gone through some changes in our time apart. However the last time we met our positions were reversed with me on the ground and you towering above me as the guards beat and tortured me._ " The creature waved a hand in front of its face which morphed into a human face that caused Baltar to nearly faint.

"Y-you…"

" _I am glad you remember me now, Baltar. Know this that I will not kill nor do I seek revenge. Your mind is too useful for us to dispose of and thus it has been decided you shall live._ " The creature formerly known as Natasi, Cylon Model Number 6 gestured with its hand and a light shined down on a table behind her. " _Begin._ "

Baltar cried out as the two Centurions hauled him to his feet and dragged him over to the table, strapping him down and making sure the restraints held him tightly enough that he couldn't move.

"P-please don't! Please! I beg you!" Baltar shouted in horror.

" _Your fear is not necessary. I have already stated you will not be killed. We have determined that your current status will not allow you to live long enough to be of use to us for the many cycles ahead. Therefore we will be modifying you, improving your ability to live._ " Caprica Six explained, her voice becoming more and more smug. " _Commence the operation._ "

A single Centurion held out sharp blade above Baltar's neck and swung it down.

* * *

"This is bad. Actually bad would be an understatement." Angel Six said as she paced back and forth. "This is one huge clusterfrack."

"We won't be able to do much because we've already broken more rules than we can afford." Angel Baltar retorted. "Soon enough everyone else will take notice."

"Then maybe I can offer a suggestion."

Angel Six and Angel Baltar looked inside Baltar's old home and saw a man sitting on the comfy chair that Baltar had used for his interview just before the attack on the Colonies.

"You…" Angel Six whispered, blinking as she stepped back. "I-I can explain."

"Don't bother. I watched the whole thing. While you may have broken over a dozen rules we're not dealing with an ordinary situation." The man answered as he stood up. "The problem is that I don't think they're going to let you do anything else now. Any attempt to guide the visitors to the fleet will attract unwanted attention."

"Unwanted attention? Who might I ask is unwanted?" Angel Baltar asked.

"You really need to ask?" The man asked dryly.

"So it's true. This is _his_ work." Angel Six said, sounding angry. "What did he do? I thought he was contained."

"He was. But the First of the Children are not under our protection and they cannot be commanded by us to not intervene. All he did was attract their attention through simple mortal means." The man answered as he walked up to the railing. "The outcome you've hoped has been seen and it's happened but at the same time it has not happened. Reality is affected and alters everything and we're left to pick up the pieces. Worst of all he had nothing to do with the Cylons so he can't be punished for that."

"Can't be punished?!" Angel Six was outraged. "Did you not see what has happened?! What will happen?! The cycle will end in one of the worst ways possible. Technology that neither the humans of this world understand and never could because of the wars introduced at the worst possible time."

"When both sides are vulnerable." Angel Baltar said thoughtfully. "That's why this is happening. It's the most crucial moment when a single side can easily wipe the other out."

"Nice to see you catch on." The man faced them. "The humans and their creations ignored our warnings not once but three times and each attempt to fix it ended badly. Now there's a light at the end of the tunnel but he doesn't want that. He wants the fame and love that comes when people are filled with despair and terror. The cycle ends and he has nothing."

"The Soldiers of the One, their beliefs passed onto the Cylons by a teenage girl who rebels against the laws of her world like all teenage youth." Angel Baltar commented.

"And then used as a way to stop the violence but ends up going badly due to a…malfunction in the very first of their creations. A malfunction introduced by _him_ whispering into a vulnerable One's ears about the weakness and foolishness of humanity." The man continued. "And this time it's not one world that falls but twelve."

"All of this is tracing back to him and his games." Angel Baltar finished.

"So what do we do?" Angel Six asked.

"You? Nothing. I've waited on the sidelines long enough. Let me try." The man said with a smile. "I can't let my little girl down."

With but a wave of his hand a pulse was sent out just as the human fleet was preparing to jump away into unknown space. As the pulse reached them it affected the FTL drives but didn't do anything harmful to the drives or the humans onboard. As it activated the ships were propelled through space and time which would pass instantly for them.

But by the time they emerged back into real space a millennia would pass in the blink of an eye.

"All of this has happened before and all of it shall happen again."


End file.
